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Vadaine Oliver enjoyed Saturday’s goal so much more after finally doing it infront of Gillingham fans.
Oliver hit 20 goals for the Gills last season but every one of those was inside an empty stadium. He finally got to enjoy the moment infront of a joyous home support at Priestfield on Saturday.
Speaking about the 2-1 win over Morecambe and scoring the winning penalty at the Rainham End, he said: “It was massive for us, it was a game we were confident of winning and we needed that to get off the mark, especially at home, with the crowd in, they make it so much harder for the opposition, especially when they get going, it was real good to get the winner for them.
“I was confident (from the penalty spot) and I wanted to score infront of them. Last year I got a lot of goals but it was empty, to get a goal infront of those fans meant a lot more.
“It was a really good atmosphere, especially in that second half when we started to get on top, they really helped us.”
Oliver had previously spent a couple of seasons with Morecambe and been team-mate to some of those who he faced on Saturday but it was just “work-mode” said the 29-year-old.
It’s taken last season’s top scorer five appearances this term to find the net and he was relieved, admitting the opening weeks had been tough. With 21 goals now from 55 games he is used to scoring more regularly.
He said: “It has been tough and thankfully for me I got the goal.
“I spoke with the gaffer through the week and me and him shared the same view about getting it wide to provide goals like we did last year because he got the best out of me, I want that again this year.
“We have started with a good platform and I will take that into the next few games.
"There are a lot of new players and it is similar to last year, we started off slow, when you have a lot of players a lot of adjusting is needed, trying to get the best out of everyone and it is going to take time. I think we have a good squad, hopefully we get a few added for the gaffer’s sake and we can kick on and have a good charge at those play-off spots.”
Oliver formed a great double-act with winger Jordan Graham last year but with the winger now at Birmingham, he’ll be looking for others to provide and one of them could be Mustapha Carayol.
Saturday’s man-of-the-match Carayol scored the opener with a stunning free-kick strike and there is more to come from the wide-man.
Commenting firstly on the goal, Oliver said: “He mentioned that he has got that in the locker, we had yet to see it, but it must have been a worldy to top that on the day, it was unbelievable.
“When he was lining it up I was thinking, ‘no way, surely not’, I was just following it up thinking if the keeper gets a touch I’ll get a tap-in, but it was an unbelievable finish.
“He is a good player and when we get him fit he will be a real asset, similar to Jordan, where we had that outlet, he can beat a player. Hopefully we can keep him fit and strong and we will see the benefit from it.”
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